27: Club concept

Bai Xinran opened the door and leaned halfway out. "Did your classmate leave?"

"Yeah, just left." He glanced at her. "I'm saying, can't you be a little less honest in the future? If someone asks if you live here, wouldn't it be enough to just say no?"

"What's wrong?" Bai Xinran tilted her head at him. "Did I get in the way of you picking up girls?" She let out a sneer. "Weren't you the one who told me to live here? Now you're afraid people will misunderstand our relationship?"

"I'm not afraid," Yu Heng pursed his lips, "but I hate the hassle."

"Then I don't care," Bai Xinran raised her chin righteously. "That's just who I am, I can't lie!"

Yu Heng was amused by her look and leaned in closer. "Then aren't you afraid people will say there's something going on between us?"

"I haven't done anything shameful," Bai Xinran glared back, refusing to back down. "A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear!"

"Tsk," Yu Heng suddenly lowered his voice. "If you keep being so stubborn with me, I might actually want to do something shameful."

Bai Xinran recoiled sharply, grabbing a towel to cover her chest. "Don't you dare!"

"Watch me." Yu Heng leaned in closer, catching the scent of the shampoo from her recent shower.

Bai Xinran was a bit flustered by his sudden proximity and subconsciously took half a step back, her back hitting the doorframe. "Don't do anything reckless! I'll scream for help!"

"Go ahead and scream," Yu Heng smirked and took another step closer, almost pressing against her. "There's only the two of us in this house. Who's going to hear you? No one lives in the nearby Villas."

"Boss, this is workplace sexual harassment!" Bai Xinran stiffened her neck, her ears turning red. "I'll report you to the Labor Bureau!"

"Report me?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "Then you'll have to prove you're my employee first. Did we sign a contract?"

"How did we not sign one?! It's there in black and white!"

"That was a partnership agreement, not a labor contract."

"You! Rogue!"

"But shouldn't you call the police for something like this?" Yu Heng laughed. "The Labor Bureau doesn't handle this, you dummy."

"Then I'll call the police to arrest you!" Bai Xinran stared at him.

"Alright, I'm done teasing you." Yu Heng stopped while he was ahead, straightening up and stepping back. "Hurry up and get ready for your stream."

Bai Xinran breathed a sigh of relief but didn't let him off easy. "All you do is bully me!"

"Well, who told you to be so easy to bully?" Yu Heng shrugged and turned toward the living room. "Go on, it's almost time."

Bai Xinran gritted her teeth and slammed the door shut.

Hearing the door slam, Yu Heng couldn't help but smile.

This girl had a sharp tongue, but she was actually a total coward.

He flopped back onto the sofa and had just opened his phone when he heard Bai Xinran shout from her room, "Boss! The internet seems a bit laggy, come take a look!"

Yu Heng sighed and resignedly got up to walk over. "Now what?"

He pushed open the door to find Bai Xinran frowning in front of the computer. "I just tried a test stream, and it's not very stable."

Yu Heng bent down to check the router while Bai Xinran rambled on beside him, "Is it because of the rain today? Or is it an equipment issue?"

"Be quiet," Yu Heng said without looking back. "Let me see."

While he was debugging, Bai Xinran quieted down, leaving only the sound of keyboard clicks in the room.

Yu Heng could feel her gaze fixed on his back.

"Fixed," he straightened up. "Try it again."

Bai Xinran quickly clicked on the testing software, her eyes lighting up. "Hey, it really is fixed! Boss, you're amazing!"

"Stop sucking up," Yu Heng glanced at her. "Next time, solve these little problems yourself."

"Got it~" Bai Xinran stuck out her tongue. "But isn't that what the boss is for?"

Yu Heng looked at her mischievous face and suddenly remembered something. "By the way, aren't you recording a submission video tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Bai Xinran nodded. "I'm planning to record an introduction and give myself a persona!"

"What persona?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow. "A dog?"

"Pretty much!" Bai Xinran raised her chin proudly. "A dog from another world, the Invincible Juicer!"

Yu Heng sized her up. "Tsk, how invincible? Can I give it a try?"

"Oh, stop teasing me, Boss!" Bai Xinran pushed him out. "I'm starting my stream, get out!"

Yu Heng laughed as he was pushed out the door. He went back to the living room and turned on the TV to some random show.

Not long after, Bai Xinran's stream began.

Yu Heng watched the scrolling comments, calculating this week's revenue in his head.

If this trend continued, the commission by the end of the month should be quite substantial.

At least twenty to thirty thousand would end up in his pocket.

But for some reason, Yu Heng didn't feel completely at ease.

The money was coming in fast, but in the end, it all relied on Bai Xinran alone.

If one day she didn't want to stream anymore, or if the audience got bored, the cash flow would be cut off instantly.

He had to find a way to scale up.

Rent a proper office? Hire a few more full-time Streamers?

The costs would skyrocket.

Just the rent, equipment investment, and staff salaries would mean fixed monthly expenses of at least tens of thousands.

The 500,000 he had on hand sounded like a lot, but if he really threw it in, it might not even make a splash.

The risk was too high.

He suddenly remembered accompanying Ning Yutong to the Club recruitment today.

That's right! A Club!

The University Town had art colleges, and the campus on their side also had art majors; there was no shortage of talented students.

People who could draw, sing, dance, edit videos, or even do 3D Modeling... If he could start a Club and bring all these people together... If managed well, they would be cheap or even free labor.

The more Yu Heng thought about it, the more he felt the idea was solid.

If this really worked out, he'd have Streamers, artists, and video post-production all ready.

He could build a complete content production chain.

Even if individual Streamers weren't profitable, as long as the overall operation made money, it would be fine.

Diversifying was better than relying solely on Bai Xinran.

Ask Qin Lu?

He organized his thoughts and started messaging Qin Lu.

Yu Heng: "Counselor, good evening. Sorry to bother you, but I have something I'd like to ask your advice on."

After a few minutes, Qin Lu replied: "What is it? Go ahead."

Yu Heng: "It's like this. Over the past few days, the income from the Streamer I'm managing has been quite good, so I was wondering if I could start a student Club for Virtual Streamers in our college?"

Yu Heng: "This Club can provide a platform for exchange and practice for students interested in Streaming, short videos, and Virtual Avatar Design. We can invite experienced seniors or industry professionals to share their insights, organize students to work on projects together, and even connect with some commercial opportunities. Firstly, it allows us to actually use what we learn in class to improve our experience and skills. Secondly, it can provide students with some income to lighten the burden on their families. And thirdly, if we truly achieve results, it would be a good thing for our school as well."